CM Siddaramaiah: We will complete 5 years and come to power after next Assembly polls

KOPPAL: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday dismissed all talk about a change of leadership after 2.5 years and said the people have given the Congress a decisive mandate with 136 seats. “We will rule for the full five years and then go for elections and come back to power”, he asserted.

Speaking to media persons on his arrival at the Basapura airport here, the CM said Congress general secretaries Randeep Singh Surjewala and K C Venugopal had arrived in the state on Wednesday to discuss next year’s Lok Sabha election and appointment of MLAs to boards and corporations. Surjewala had warned party leaders not to cross the limits, while referring to remarks MLAs and ministers on the chief minister’s post.

On the prevailing drought situation, Siddaramaiah said the ministers are touring their districts. Condemning the ‘stepmotherly’ attitude of the Union government, the CM said the BJP leaders in the state should go to Delhi and put pressue on the Centre to release drought aid instead of touring the state.

The CM said the central ministers and Prime Minister refused to meet state ministers who had been to Delhi to seek central aid for drought relief. “Modi does not meet even his own party MLAs and ministers”, Siddaramaiah remarked. The Centre has not released Rs 600 crore towards NREGA funds, he added.

Dismissing BJP senior leader B S Yediyurappa’s remarks about alleged corruption in the implementation of the Congress guarantees as utterly false, the CM said, “The party removed him as CM and he had shed tears in the Assembly. Now he is talking for the same party”.

The CM said he was not aware of foreign jaunts by his party MLAs and said they may have gone on private visits. He also said the irrigation pumpset benefits for farmers will be continued as earlier.————————-